Texas has a record 426 deaths; Dallas County reports 1,993 new cases of coronavirus, 17 deaths

Updated at 17:44: Revised to include data from Tarrant County.

Dallas County reported 1,993 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, as well as 17 additional deaths from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, across Texas, a one-day record of 426 deaths from the virus has been reported.

Six of Dallas County’s last victims were from Mesquite: two men in their 50s, a woman in her 50s who lived in a long-term care facility, a man and a woman in her 60s and a man in her 90s who lived in a long-term care institution. Another five were Dallas residents: a woman in her 30s, a man in her 50s, two men in her 60s and a man in her 90s who lived in a long-term care facility.

The other victims were three residents of Garland – a woman in her 50s, a man in her 70s and a woman in her 80s who lived in a long-term care facility; an Addison woman in her 70s; and a DeSoto woman and a Highland Park man in his 90s.

All but the DeSoto woman had high-risk health conditions, officials said.

In a written statement, County Judge Clay Jenkins urged residents to continue to take precautions against the spread of the virus.

“With only 20 adult ICU beds available today in Dallas County, and the difficult January and February forecast, it is critical that you follow the advice of local doctors,” he said.

Of the new cases notified Thursday, 1,796 are confirmed and 197 are likely. The new reported cases bring the total confirmed cases in the county to 201,744 and the probable cases to 25,878. The county recorded 1,829 deaths in total COVID-19.

The county said it is counting only positive antigen tests (sometimes called rapid tests) as probable cases; some antibody and “household” results have been included previously.

While other counties in northern Texas provide estimates of how many people have recovered from the virus, Dallas county officials do not report recoveries, noting that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not use this metric.

Health officials use hospitalizations, intensive care admissions and visits to emergency rooms as key metrics to track the real-time impact of COVID-19 in the county. In the 24-hour period that ended on Wednesday, 1,204 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care at hospitals in Dallas County. During the same period, 564 visits to the emergency room were for symptoms of the disease.

State data

Across the state, an additional 24,325 cases and a record 426 deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Thursday, including 24,015 new cases and 310 older cases that were recently reported by laboratories. Texas now reported 2,045,699 total cases and 31,050 deaths.

Of the new cases, 20,047 were confirmed and 3,968 were probable. The state notified 1,794,545 confirmed cases and 251,154 probable cases.

There are 14,052 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals, including 4,033 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. As of Wednesday, 24.5% of patients in the region of the hospital that covers the Dallas-Fort Worth area were patients with COVID-19, according to the state panel.

The statewide seven-day average positivity rate for molecular testing, based on the specimen’s collection date, was 17.7% on Wednesday. State health officials said using data based on when people were tested provides the most accurate rate of positivity.

For antigen tests, the positivity rate for the same period was 11.1%.

Tarrant County

Tarrant County reported 2,433 coronavirus cases and 10 new deaths on Thursday.

The latest victims include five Fort Worth residents: a woman in her 60s, two men in her 70s and two women in her 80s. The others were three Arlington women in their 50s, 70s and 80s, a Hurst man in his 60s and a woman in North Richland Hills in his 70s.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 185,513, including 160,366 confirmed cases, 25,147 probable cases and 132,350 recoveries. The death toll is 1,787.

According to Thursday’s figures on the county panel, 1,453 people are hospitalized with the virus.

Collin County

The state added 1,012 cases of coronavirus and 12 new deaths from COVID-19 to the total for Collin County on Thursday. The county has already recorded 61,279 cases and a death toll of 451.

No details on the latest victims were available.

Of the new cases, 716 were confirmed and 296 were likely. Collin County recorded 53,282 confirmed cases and 7,997 probable cases. According to state data, the municipality recorded 47,401 recoveries.

The county coronavirus panel provides only the total number of hospitalizations, now at 540.

Denton County

Denton County reported 539 cases of coronavirus – of which 470 are active – on Thursday. No new deaths were reported.

The new reported cases bring the county total to 45,346, including 13,755 active and 31,354 in recovery. They also increase the total molecular cases to 36,848 and the antigen cases to 8,498.

The death toll in the county is 237.

There are 221 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized, reports the county.

Other counties

The Texas Department of Health Services has taken over the reports from these other counties in North Texas. In some counties, new data may not be reported every day.

The last numbers are:

• Rockwall County: 8,045 cases (6,738 confirmed and 1,307 probable), 67 deaths.
• Kaufman County: 11,279 cases (9,838 confirmed and 1,441 probable), 148 deaths.
• Ellis County: 16,083 cases (14,197 confirmed and 1,886 likely), 188 deaths.
• Johnson County: 14,109 cases (12,591 confirmed and 1,518 probable), 196 deaths.